Workshop: Home or Away? (Shop Location)

[Taylor]

What is your preference?
To have a home based shop out of a garage or similar, or located separately away in a more commercial setting?
Home seems convenient, but then this kind of thing happens (distraction).
Commercial generally costs a little more, but for clients it may be nicer... maybe a bit more productive as well?
I'm at home now... but I'm thinking of switching to a shared commercial space with another bicycle business (not to mention, the new location has access to a sandblast, and paint booth!)
I imagine most home shops are going to be a little smaller than the commercial spaces as well.
Not so much asking for advise as interested in who is doing what.
Thoughts, situations, locations?

[edoz]

I can see having a standalone location as a potential for distraction as well. If it is accessible you may have people hanging out wanting to chat, like down at the local bike shop. If it looks like it might be a bike shop, you could get people dragging bike shaped objects in wanting frames repaired that aren't worth the gas they spent hauling it. Or the inevitable "hey can you get this seatpost out?" With your shop being at your home, there seems to be some sort of social boundary where people don't think of you as 'at work' and 'at their service'.

That's just what I've gathered from my limited experience though, others will undoubtedly have different opinions.

[YiPsan]

Home, but preferably a separate structure.

[WadePatton]

i like having my shop 1/8 mile across the field. i can _see_ home/shop from the other, but i don't go back and forth willy nilly. with the level of add many of us carry, avoiding willy nilly is a good thing.

i'm too far from "town" to be a hangout.

i like having some separation, but never want a commute.

[VertigoCycles]

I like having a home location. The distraction level can be high at times but it's entirely dependent on your work ethic and understanding of whomever is living in the house with you. I have customers over here for meetings from time to time and always welcome my local customers to come over to check out progress. There is a down side in my own situation. I have a toddler who destroys the house every day and it's pointless to clean up until night time. If I bring someone through the house, it's not a great presentation but I have yet to see an actual impact from that scenario.

On the other hand...we're headed out east for a visit to MD next month and while we're there I'm going to be looking at commercial spots with living above in Frederick. IF the stars align, we're going to entertain moving back. The idea is to get the benefit of an on-site shop that's also a separate commercial space. Best of both.

[cardinal]

IF the stars align, we're going to entertain moving back.

NOOOO!!!

I won't allow this.

[Dazza]

Home, but preferably a separate structure.

yeah, what he said


because of having the workshop at home
you can be handcuffed to the home workshop
and feel guilty for not being down there
the distraction for me is from having a normal home life, always a new project
as I assemble a Super Record Group set on a new frame
and about to lace up wheels
on Sunday!
What else is there to do on Sunday till the workshop steam loco building extension is built and paid for

then the distraction will be the steam loco making

[Eric Estlund]

because of having the workshop at home
you can be handcuffed to the home workshop

Ah, finding balance! This is something I struggle with working from home. I put in a lot of "off hour" time. Growing up my parents ran a business in a similar fashion- an on site but separate space. I find myself falling into the same 6+ day a week habits. But maybe that's just being a small business owner? Or job passionate?

I see pro's and con's to both situations, but am currently very happy to be working in a dedicated space on site.

[datas_brother]

I'm just starting out, but I chose home for 2 reasons:

1. I can deduct part of my mortgage payment (Germany) to reduce my tax burden without having actual costs.
2. Since I'm keeping my day job for now, I spend less time away from the family while still getting work done.

Setting up a new shop right now in the basement.

Cheers
Kevin

[Proparc]

There is a down side in my own situation. I have a toddler who destroys the house every day and it's pointless to clean up until night time. If I bring someone through the house, it's not a great presentation but I have yet to see an actual impact from that scenario.

Hey, if he doesn't like your toddler,(or his shenanigans) just don't sell him a bike!!

[Carl S]

What is your preference?
To have a home based shop out of a garage or similar, or located separately away in a more commercial setting?
Home seems convenient, but then this kind of thing happens (distraction).
Commercial generally costs a little more, but for clients it may be nicer... maybe a bit more productive as well?
I'm at home now... but I'm thinking of switching to a shared commercial space with another bicycle business (not to mention, the new location has access to a sandblast, and paint booth!)
I imagine most home shops are going to be a little smaller than the commercial spaces as well.
Not so much asking for advise as interested in who is doing what.
Thoughts, situations, locations?

I'm currently in a commercial location but my plan is to move back to my home and build from a separate structure. I think that if you do not plan on having employees or don't' need a larger space or a walk in location that a commercial location can provide it can be a lot more expensive than it's worth. Not only do you pay rent but you have to pay for heat and electricity as well as a another phone and Internet line. Depending on where you live you might get on the cities radar and before you know it you have to get a occupancy permit which can be expensive if they slap a bunch of requirements on you.

[John Winston]

Been in both. From 10,000 feet to 4,000 feet to now a two car home garage. For building frames, the garage seems ideal. Nice, cozy, and on my time. At the house.....great for distractions and great on conveinence.

I do like a seperate space and more of it, but then I like to build other stuf as well. In fact, getting to look right now for a few thousand feet (expanding biz) and I'll make sure I have an area for a shop.

As far as sharing, I couldn't share. The workshop is truly a place I can go and just sit amongst the tools and be at peace. I don't like people in my tools (because usually I have to replace or repair them after their use) and you loose the ability to work on your schedule......like farming it out, which from what I gather on this board, is the oppisite direction one should be traveling-

[abbeyQ]

I have the worst of all setups, in somebody else's garage clear across town. He is my 'partner' although he is going through some rough stuff in life and I haven't seen him in the shop in months. I have keys to the shop so access isn't an issue but it' still loaded with stuff not related to building bikes and space is tight, maybe 350 feet that is dedicated to building.

Although I couldn't justify renting space I would love to move the shop into my garage although that wouldn't net me any more permeant room.

[Andrew R Stewart]

Great thread- I've had 10 different shops that I've built in. Three times in a professional location. Twice at classes. Twice at other's home basements and the rest in my home's basement.

I will agree that home shops can be distracting. But so can remote ones if the word gets out and people start hanging out. It is easier to control one's home from visiters.

It seems to me that going remote is a business deccission as much as a work style one. The added costs of rent, insurance and the inevetable fix up needs that most will see when moving out of the basement or garage make the building far more a business then expensive hobby.

Having said all that here I am slowly fixing up shop #11 in both the basement and garage. As this building thing is still only hobby I'll take the cost savings and timing flexibility of a home shop.

Taylor- Do tell us what you decide or learn.

[Zimmermanbicycle]

I'm in the process of organizing my two car garage to move the building home,the drive across Los Angeles is seriously eating into my work time and with a baby on the way I know I'm going to have a lot less time on my hands!
Now I just need to figure out what to do with the garage full of motorcycles and old bicycles!
-Eric

[Kevin Maxwell Ostrom]

I prefer to have a shop at the house, but completely separate from the living space. I currently share a shop with one other person, and the shop is not at my house. I thought that having the shop away from the house would be good, more focus but I have found that it is not that simple. I am finding that I will save up my work time and try to push it all into a specific time window, instead of letting the work just happen. This may be due in part to my lack of experience building frames (most likely), and I am hoping that as I gain experience this will prove to be true. Only time will tell.

KMO

[Craig Ryan]

I'm in the process of designing a supershed as a separate structure in the back yard. Hope to have it built by fall. I'm building keeping resale value in mind, so it could also be a killer woodshop, art studio, or other for someone if I ever moved. Not sure I'll have plumbed water, but it will have it's own heat and power.

[vulture]

Vulture Cycles is currently located in the garage at my Grandpa's house about 1.5 miles away from home. It works great because my son and I get to see the old guy a lot, I make lunch for us quite often and dinner as well. The office part is at home which can be frustrating but I just have to be on my toes organizationally. Mostly I am glad that I don't have the internet in the shop. My commute is killer also.

[JuanGrande]

I am still at the hobbyist level, thus I build at home. Before we moved, I used my garage. It worked fine but as others have mentioned, I had to share space with assorted stuff - old cars, new cars, and random stuff we didn't want in the house.

We moved about 2 1/2 years ago, and one of the benefits of the new (100 yr old) house is that there is a separate workshop with outdoor workspace and parking too. I love it! That said, I still share it projects for the car(s), now repairing things for the old home, and random stuff we don't want in the house.

Personally, I like the flexibility of working at home - its easier to pop into the shop for an hour (we just had our fist baby a month ago and time is very limited) when it is 20' away.

Jonathan

[steve garro]

I have a 600sq. ft. shop. not connected but ajacent to my pad. it's nice to work near my pad {esp for me} + I like the "home office" tax aspect. the bad is that well, you shop is near your home. you have to set boundaries if you don't want gawkers, random apperances by wanna be apprentices who "just though i'd stop by to see what i can learn", huffy owners wanting you to fix their bike for free, you get the idea.........would i change it, no.......rent for a shop generally is going to run you the profit from a couple frames a month, best case scenario. the idea is to make profit, not just turn over $$$$ & make bikes for free. - Garro.